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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about West Shokan (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for West Shokan. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for West Shokan ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Shokan: W. Shokan

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

West Shokan is located in Ulster County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ulster County: Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange & Sullivan.

Below are the counties that are near West Shokan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Shokan:

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Shokan, see our County-by-County Page for West Shokan.

Cemeteries Near West Shokan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Shokan.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Shokan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Shokan, with the one closest to West Shokan listed first.

  • Tongore Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tongore Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tongore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Van Kleeck Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Van Kleeck Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Van Kleeck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hudler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hudler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hudler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Krumville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bush Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Longyear Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Longyear Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Longyear Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palentown Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palentown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palentown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shandaken Rural Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shandaken Rural Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shandaken Rural Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whitfield Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lanesville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lanesville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lanesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Furman Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Furman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Furman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (221 more) ...
    • Pine Bush Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Bush Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Bush Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rochester Reformed Church Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rochester Reformed Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rochester Reformed Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Benton - Bar Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Benton - Bar Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Benton - Bar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Shokan had a population of 198 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from West Shokan, with the one closest to West Shokan listed first.

  • Brodhead
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Boiceville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Shokan
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Cold Brook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Brook
    • Cold Brook is located in Ulster County
  • Olivebridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Samsonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samsonville
    • Samsonville is located in Ulster County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Samsonville <1>
  • Longyear
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longyear have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longyear
    • Longyear is located in Ulster County
  • Krumville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Krumville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krumville
    • Krumville is located in Ulster County
  • Woodland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Woodland is located in Ulster County
  • Liebhardt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liebhardt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liebhardt
    • Liebhardt is located in Ulster County
  • Glenford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Phoenicia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Bull Run
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bull Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Run
      • Bull Run is located in Ulster County
    • Tabasco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tabasco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabasco
      • Tabasco is located in Ulster County
    • Bearsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Shokan. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Shokan.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Shokan ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Shokan.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Shokan. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Shokan and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Shokan.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5> of West Shokan.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to West Shokan:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Shokan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Ulster County: www.co.ulster.ny.us/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Shokan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Shokan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9668, Longitude: -74.2866    
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about West Shokan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025